Rail joint spring



March 27, 1934. R. J MCCOMB RAIL JOINT SPRING Filed March 11, 1932 JanLZZL WITNESSES 13 INVENTOR 105 /L 4 m" M X M Patented Mar. 27, 1934PATENT; OFFICE RAIL JOINTSPRING Richard J. McComb, Chicago, Ill.,assignor to Woodings-Verona'Tool'Works, Verona, Pa., a corporation ,ofPennsylvania Application March 11, 1932, Serial No. 598,162

Claims.

This invention relates to compression springs adapted to maintain aconstant tension on bolts and the like, Particularly the invention isadapted tobelapplied' to rail joints for track construcition."

The objects of the invention are to-provide a pring member adaptedtoseat under a bolt head or the like and to be compressed against a basemember thereby, the spring being constructed 71.0 with aplurality ofarches and oftransversely 1' 0 tact of portions of the spring against abase member, further compression will have to overcome a, secondaryresistance furnished by individual arches of the spring member,,thetotal efiective resistance being a resultant of the resistance tov,95 distortion of the metal in two or more directions, and a pluralityof individual arches- Generally speaking the-object of the invention isto -provide a spring of, the kind referred to adapted, to furnish amaximum amount of resistance to compression, 2. maximum amount ofefieetiveresistance to-compression before a permanent set is produced inthe spring, and a maxi- 'mum amount of reactance after compression. Byreactance is here meant the power of the spring constantlyexertedagainst the compressing members tending to separate them, and followingthe compressing members as they are moved apart, up to the normaloriginal condition of the sp ng.

Referring to the drawing, Fig. 1 is a vertical cross section through arail end showing splice bars applied thereto and held thereon by boltsof the usual type, with a compression spring embodyin-gthe Presentinvention ppliedto one of the bolts; Fig. 2 is a side elevation showinga bolt, end with a spring underneath-it; Fig. 3 is a partialhorizontalsection through the spring on the line IIIIII of Fig.2, showing thespring in normally compressedposition; Fig.- 4 is a secfully compressed;Figs. 5, 6, '7, and 8 show cross sectional outlines of several forms ofrolled bar stock :of suitable steelthatmay-be used in manufacturingthespring of this invention; andFigs. 9, 10., 11, 12,13, 14 and 15 areside elevations showing various arched forms in which the spring stockof Figs. 5, 6, 7 or 8-may be bent to form individual springs. V

In making up springs according tothis invention, bars of suitable springsteel are rolled to a cross sectional shape such as that shown inFigs.5,. 6, 7 orv 8. It will be observed that the bars of Figs. 5, 6 and? arerolled with thickened edges, and that these edges are turned down toform a transversely arched bar, or channel. This stiffens andstrengthens the spring longitudinally and permits the use of a minimumof metal. In Fig. 5 the upper side of this bar is substantially flat, inFig. 6 it is slightly concave, and in Fig. 7 it is convex. The flatorconcave top is preferred so thatthe seat of the nut or othercompression member on the spring may not be confined to-a median line,as is the'case with the shape of Fig. 7. I

In Fig. 3 a modification is shown in that the bar or stock is ofsubstantially the same thickness throughout its cross section, but thebaris rolled with two parallel raised portions intermediate the edgesand middle. The edges and middle portion of the under side lie in thesame base plane, with the intermediate bends raised therefrom.

The bar stock of of the forms shown in Figs. 5, 6, '7 or 8, butpreferably that'of Fig. 6, is cut to length, perforated to provide asingle bolt hole in the middle, and forged toa longitudinal shape suchas that shown in one of the Figures 9 to 15, inclusive, preferably thatof Fig.

9. All of the springs shown in Figs. 9 to 15 are adapted to contact withthe Work upon which they are seated only at their edges, theintermediate portion of the transverse section being raised or archedwith respectto such seating surfaces. 1

Referring to Fig. 9 the spring 1 there illustrated is formed with endsturned down to con- .tact at the corners with the base member upon whichit is to be seated, with two adjacent longitudinally arched portions 10and 11, and an intermediate down-turned longitudinal arch por- 1;

tion 12. This down-turned or reversely arched portion 12 has its lowestpoint normally lying in a'plane above that in whichthe corners 13, 13

of the spring lie. 50 tion similar to that of Fig. 3,,showing the springIn Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, springs 1 are shown applied to a standardrailway joint, in which to the railR are applied splice bars S, S,connected by a bolt B, having a head H on one end and a nut N threadedon .the other end. I

When the nut is turned down on the bolt to draw the parts together, thespring will first contact at the four corners thereof, the spring beingin normal shape as shown in Fig. 9. As the nut is turned down the springwill be compressed until the intermediate longitudinally arched portion12 is depressed to the point where this depending arched portioncontacts the splice bar at the outer edges of the spring as shown inFigs. 1 and 3.

Ordinarily for railway track use these springs will be so proportionedand shaped that it will take say twenty thousand pounds pressure tocompress the springs to the point where the intermediate arches 12 seatagainst'the splice bars. That is usually about the spring action desiredin track work for holding the splice bars in position, to constantlytake up wear, and to prevent loosening of the nuts. If still greatertension on the bolt is desired, the nut may be turned down stillfurther, in which case the spring will yield further by flattening theindividual longitudinal arches 10 and 11, and to some extent thetransverse arch of the channel-shaped spring. This secondary distortionof the spring requires great pressure and consequently puts greatlyincreased tension on the bolt. The shape of the spring permits even thissevere secondary distortion without loss of resiliency and power ofreactance.

There will thus result a secondary transverse and longitudinaldistortion of the spring. This will require considerably more pressurethan the primary distortion resulting in flattening of the springlongitudinally. When the spring is flattened further in longitudinal andsomewhat in transverse direction the result will be maximum tension onthe bolt for the amount of metal in the spring.

In Fig. 10 a modification is shown in that the ends of the spring 2 arestraightened out and consequently not turned down as abruptly as in Fig.9. Fig. 11 is a further modification in which the outer ends of thespring 3 are turned up slightly beyond the base-contacting corners. Themethod of operation of the springs of Figs. 9, 10 and 11 issubstantially the same, the degree of compression required to flattenthem longitudinally being varied in each according to the proportioningof the arches and the height of the intermediate seating edges above thebase member in uncompressed condition.

In Fig. 12 a spring 4 is shown in which the intermediate arch 120 ispermanently positioned in the same plane as the lowermost portions ofthe ends 130 of the spring. Consequently the initial distortion of thespring consists in flattening the longitudinal arches 10c and 110without depression of the intermediate portion. This spring gives moreinitial resistance to distortion than springs 1, 2 and 3.

Fig. 13 is a modification of the form shown in Fig. 12, in that the ends13d of the spring 5 are not turned up beyond the outer points ofcontact, but on the contrary form seating corners, the arches 10d and11d being of shorter radius than those of Fig. 12. This is a stifferspring than that of Fig. 12.

The spring 6 of Fig. 14 is similar to that of Fig. 13 except that thearches 10c are more flattened by straightening out the end portionsthereof. This allows the spring to be more easily compressed.

The spring '7 of Fig. 15 difiers from any of the others in that it seatson the middle down-turned arch 12f, the ends 13 of the spring beingnormally above the plane of the lowermost point of the middle arch 12f.This spring is initially distorted by bringing the ends 13 down tocontact with a base member, the spring being preliminarily seated at itsmiddle point.

The operation of all of the forms shown and described will be apparentto those familiar with the art, as will also the very distinctadvantages that result from the construction described. The spring has aplurality of arched portions, which are adapted to be distorted orflattened, seriatim, thus giving readily determinable stages or degreesof resilience or resulting tension. And under maximum pressure thespring gives a maximum reactance within the elastic limit of the steel.Thus for a given amount of metal a maximum amount of spring action andconsequent reactance is secured before destruction of the spring bypermanent set of the metal.

By observing the degree of distortion of the spring, workmen may readilydetermine the amount of tension it is exerting, and so tell whethertightening is necessary. For example, knowing the clearance of seatingarch 12 of spring 1, workmen can tell whether it is half down, all down,and further whether individual arches 10 100 and 11 are flattened. Asthe tension of the spring is determined by the degree of distortion, andas this never reaches the straight or completely flat condition,observation will readily show the u amount of tension that is beingexerted on the 105 bolts.

I claim:

1. A compression spring comprising a perforated piece of bar springsteel arched in cross sec- 4 tion and also arched longitudinally toprovide "110 corner seating portions, longitudinally arched portionsadjacent the corners, and an intermediate depending portion whose lowersurface is normally above the common plane of the corner M seatingportions, the longitudinal arches being 115 adapted to be partiallyflattened by compression applied to the spring whereby to bring the saidintermediate portion into the plane of the corner seating portions.

2. A compression spring comprising spring steel 1-20 stock arched intransverse section and also arched longitudinally to provide two raisedindividual arches and an intermediate depending arch, the spring beingadapted to seat upon a base member at its four outer corners, thelowermost part of 125 the depending arch being normally in a plane abovethat of the four corners, the spring'bein'g adapted upon the applicationof pressure to be distorted to first bring the depending arch intocontact with the base member, and then upon ap-'--130 plication ofexcess pressure to distort the transverse arch of the spring and theindividual longitudinal arches.

3. A combined bolt-tensioning spring and nut lock adapted to be appliedunder the nut of a tracki bolt in railway construction, comprising aplate of spring steel arched transversely and having its edgesthickened, perforated at its middle point, longitudinally arched to forma central depending portion spaced from each end of the spring lai by asingle arch, a portion of the spring being adapted to be brought down tocontact with a base member upon application of a predetermined amount oftension on the spring, whereby to fur nish a constantly-apparent gage ofthe bolt tension.

4. A compression spring comprising a perforated piece of bar springsteel having depending ends and an intermediate depending portion thelower surface of which is normally spaced from 15% intersecting thelowermost parts of said ends, the portion of the spring between saiddepending portion and each of said ends being formed as a longitudinalarch, the spring also being arched transversely to provide cornerportions adapted to be brought into a plane intersecting the lowersurface of said depending portion when pressure is applied to the topsof said longitudinal arches.

RICHARD J. MCCOMB.

